The four have been sentenced to a year in prison and have been ordered to pay out over $3.5 million in damages to 17 media companies including major studios such as EMI, Warner, Sony and Columbia.

The four have said they will appeal the verdict, based on the argument that The Pirate Bay does not host copy-protected content, and that the site will keep going in the mean time - it is still live now.

"As in all good movies, the heroes lose in the beginning but have an epic victory in the end anyhow. That's the only thing Hollywood ever taught us," the site has said.

Referencing the Hollywood movie Karate Kid, one of the founders, Peter Sunde, believes that the epic win will eventually come.

"I am shocked by the jail time", said Sunde claiming that if a group killed someone in Sweden they rarely all get jail time. "It seems we all killed the media industry."

On the topic of money the Pirate Bay founder seemed to imply that it would be a lost cause:

"We can't pay and we won't pay", said Sunde. "Even if I had the money I would rather burn everything that I owned than give them the money".

Meanwhile the IFPI who brought the case against the site has released a statement over the victory.

“The trial of the operators of The Pirate Bay was about defending the rights of creators, confirming the illegality of the service and creating a fair environment for legal music services that respect the rights of the creative community", the IFPI chairman and CEO, John Kennedy, said.

"Today’s verdict is the right outcome on all three counts. The court has also handed down a strong deterrent sentence that reflects the seriousness of the crimes committed. This is good news for everyone, in Sweden and internationally, who is making a living or a business from creative activity and who needs to know their rights will be protected by law”.